Redux
by Ablemarle
Summary: "..because being Chrome was bittersweet, but it was better than not being."  Drabbles of Nagi before she was Chrome with sprinkles of 6996 here and there! Rating will switch up chapter-to-chapter.
1. Bad With The Good

Feeling sorry for herself wasn't something Nagi often did. Her life would certainly merit a bit of whining here and there, though. The bad always overshadowed everything that was worth remembering.

When the pair goes to the mall together, the brunt of carrying the shopping bags (which grew in weight exponentially after each store they leave) belongs to the younger of the two. Not as though she minds, it's not so bad. As long as her mother appreciates it (which Nagi would find in time, she didn't) she continues to hang the bags on her shoulder and not make a peep about the ache in her feet or back.

A bite of her tongue and Nagi keeps her complaints back. Even when her mother adds another purse of two to her superfluous collection, and firmly informs her daughter that she doesn't deserve a new sketchbook, she takes it all in stride.

It doesn't matter, I'll save up, Nagi reasons. She always makes an excuse to not push her mother to buy something for her. Their family is definitely well off enough to buy a couple of things to draw with, it wouldn't be unfair. Oh well, she sighs and breathes when they walk out of the mall and decides not to ponder on it.

-x-

Even if there was bad times with her mom, a daughter will always remember the good. Mainly because, in the few seconds she was wrapped in her mother's arms that one day, Nagi decided that it was a nice way to be with somebody. She figured it was better to be like this than to wait for the next chiding. Nagi decided she likes the warmth and she loves to feel loved this much. It's a shame these kinds of moments were few and far between.

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><p><strong>A<strong>/**N**: The ending is kind of out of place, but it was too short for another drabble and I desperately wanted to make something out of it! Reviews would be appreciated.

**Disclaimer**: Katekyo Hitman Reborn belongs to Akira Amano. Not me. Nopey nope.


	2. Thought Process

A machine is beeping and her head is spinning. The patient's breath is hitching. She assumes she's dying. Is she? Someone outside her room seems to be deciding that. She can hear every word, the hushed rebukes against a 'stupid girl' who will never know any better and won't, doesn't know friendship. Shouldn't these rooms be soundproof? It would help calm her thumping heart.

All of her thoughts are crashing into each other, but she still finds some prevailing over all the jumbled, scattered, scared things popping up.

Nagi wonders if the cat is ok. She's already given up on her own life, so have her parents who never really were. Somehow, the thing she is glad about is saving the cat. The idea gives her a little bit of peace. All of the things her mother is discussing with her 'dad' mean nothing right now.

She's mulling over the idea of having kids. Being a good mom would be important to her. If she did have any, she think she'd make a respectable parent. They would have a sense of discipline and Nagi would make sure their lunches were always there when they had to leave in the morning. After realizing her uterus is gone with whatever else, she throws away the thoughts. Maybe she wouldn't make such a great mom anyways.

-x-

Blood dribbles down her mouth while she listens to her pulse speeding up and she feels her lungs contract in, heave out, in, out. The nurses are doing their best, she knows. What can they do for someone on their death bed? That's when Nagi decides being in the medical field must be a lot more stress but a lot more rewarding than marrying men who are wealthy and leeching off them.

The voice in her mind is guessing she is lonely. He knows that feels like. He doesn't know how it feels to be thrown away by parents that have spent years with you. He's glad he doesn't. That's why he revels in loneliness and the comfort of it all. He saves her when she's at her brink to make her know the same solace.

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><p><strong>A<strong>/**N**: I don't have a beta reader, probably never will. Unless someone wants to take up the offer, I'll be my own beta forever. )': Sob sob. Anyways, reviews are appreciated. Thank you for reading!

Also, I need your guys' advice. I'm thinking about starting a Nagi/Chrome Alice In Wonderland crossover story. Do you all think I should take a shot at it? It will definitely be a hefty chapter fic, well, for me at least. Thank you so much guys. (:

**Disclaimer**: Don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn. Akira Amano does.


	3. Gum and Chocolate

From Nagi's own point of view, it seemed as though this 'Chrome' was her new lease on life. She was excited and scared in the same instant. Her body was tense and clammy when she woke up to see three faces surrounding her. There was a tribal, animalistic-looking boy who stood rather close to the nerdier, glasses-boy. In the middle, there stood her guardian angel, her savior, her only chance. The man with the single red eye and azure hair brushed his hand across her forehead and announced her like a new exhibit in a museum.

"Ken, Chikusa, I would like you to meet Chrome Dokuro." It truly did feel like she was being rebirthed. Ken poked at her face as if she was an alien, Nagi flinched away.

"Does it act like a real human?" The animal-boy distorted his face into a snarl.

"Of course, she is a real human, Ken." Glasses-boy with the dark hair scoffed at his primal friend.

Nagi's eyes darted around the room; she observed the dust, the antique furniture and sunken building. Everything in the room was so old, and yet it all seemed so new, so foreign to her. She was used to clean houses, maids, and hot, fresh food. Here, though, she would have to accustom herself to allergies from dust, Chikusa and Ken, and gum and chocolate.


End file.
